Pensioner waited more than an hour for ambulance after breaking arm (From Warrington Guardian)
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Pensioner waited more than an hour for ambulance after breaking arm
1:40pm Thursday 20th September 2012 in News
A PENSIONER says she is appalled she was left to wait in Sankey Valley Park for an ambulance for more than an hour because she was ‘not a priority’.
Katherine Antwis, aged 69, fell and broke her shoulder while she was walking her dogs on Saturday at 6pm and said she was in so much pain she could not move any part of her body.
A woman, described as being in her 20s, rushed to the aid of the former cleaning supervisor and rang for an ambulance.
When one did not arrive she was forced to call a further four times until she was eventually told she was not a priority case.
Mrs Antwis, who is originally from France, said: “I was lying flat on my back in nothing but a summer dress and I was freezing.
“I could see rain clouds starting to come over and thought I was going to be left on the ground while I got soaked.”
Paramedics told Mrs Antwis, from Dallam, they were shocked by the way she had been treated before taking her on the three-minute journey to Warrington Hospital.
Doctors found she had a ‘bad break’ of the humerus bone in her left arm. Mrs Antwis has since returned home to care for her husband of 36 years Neville, who suffers from emphysema.
The couple added they wanted to thank the woman who helped Mrs Antwis and stayed with her while she waited for an ambulance A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “We appreciate that waiting for an ambulance can be a distressing time and we apologise for the length of time it took.
“With the high number of 999 calls we deal with every day, it is essential for us to prioritise calls in order to ensure the most poorly patients are seen as quickly as possible.
“We allocated a vehicle to this incident as soon as one became available.”
Comments(6)
notatcreamfields
says...
4:27pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Reader
says...
5:17pm Thu 20 Sep 12
the dr who
says...
7:38am Fri 21 Sep 12
Reader wrote:the real idiots here are Warrington Guardian, why write such a pointless story. it could just have easily said, person dies of heart attack while ambulance attend broken arm.
For god sake grow up. The ladies 69, she was obviously in a lot of pain and couldn't move so how the hell could she just get up and walk to the hospital. Obviously there have to be priorities and I'm not saying there shoudn't but there's no need to be down right nasty and personal.
come on warrington Guardian the paper is turning into a comic
Cleopatra
says...
6:45am Sat 22 Sep 12
The woman was almost 70 years old, broke her shoulder and fracured her humerous. Unable to get up from the ground, she was left lying there for over an hour in unimaginable pain, cold with the possibility of getting wet. At her age shock could have easily took a hold of her, which could have led to other complications. And she was not a priority? How long would it have taken an ambulance to reach her from the hospital and ferry her back there? Fifteen minutes top. I just hope the Ambulance spokesperson doesn't find him/herself in a similar postion - although I expect he/she would be given top priority, eh what?
Cleopatra
says...
6:49am Sat 22 Sep 12
Chip Hazard says...
3:28pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Your injuries in relation to the waiting time are not considered life threatening.
Whereas with heart attacks, heavy bleeding, hemorrhages etc. response time can be the difference between life and death.
Your story is a 'nothing' story. Stop moaning and get well soon.